Third Time's The Charm
by singyourheartout287
Summary: Reaction fic to 6x02. Blaine follows Kurt to the bathroom at Scandals to check on him and they finally have a real conversation for the first time since the break up. One-shot.


Blaine couldn't even make eye contact with Dave after Kurt walked away. He chewed the inside of his cheek and shifted his weight, stomach dropping to his feet. He knew telling Kurt about Dave would cause tension, but he also knew that if he waited and tried to keep it a secret, it would all be even worse when the truth came out. So he wanted to be honest up front-to get the truth and his feelings out right at the beginning and not bottle anything up. His therapist told him that one of his unhealthy habits in the past had been bottling his emotions up until they exploded and she was right; he did. So he was honest up front for once, and now Kurt was gone.

Again.

"I, um... I'm just gonna..." Blaine thumbed toward the bathroom and Dave nodded.

"Yeah, sure."

Blaine nodded and followed in the direction Kurt had gone. He tried to push on the bathroom door, but it was locked. He tried again and frowned, then knocked on the hard wood.

"Kurt? Kurt, are you in there?"

There was sniffling from the other side of the door and the sounds of choked sobs and shallow breathing. And _damn it _if Blaine didn't know Kurt's every crying noise, especially given the last couple months of their relationship.

"I just need a minute!"

"Kurt, it's just me," Blaine said, voice growing soft and heart shattering. _It's just me. _How many times had he said that over the years? It used to be a comfort to Kurt, or so it seemed when Blaine said it. Every time, Kurt let him in.

This time, the door stayed closed.

"I'm fine; I just need a minute," Kurt called again.

"Kurt. _Please._"

After a minute Blaine leaned against the door, sure it wasn't going to open. He rested his head against the cold, painted wood and closed his eyes, willing the tears not to fall. The pain was still fresh, a never-ending ache in his gut. He'd gotten on with his life and picked himself back up again for public's sake, but on the inside, Blaine still felt like he was dying.

A few agonizing minutes later and the door opened, causing Blaine to almost fall flat on his face. He would have, if it weren't for Kurt, who caught him by the arms and held on tight, cheeks still pink and eyes still wet. "S-Sorry." He helped Blaine stand up again and let go quickly, rubbing his hands on his jeans as if to rid himself of some communicable disease. "I didn't know you were leaning against the door."

"Can we talk?" Blaine asked, hating the way his voice was already breaking. _And they hadn't even talked yet. _

"You know, I'm not feeling well, so I think I'm just gonna-"

"Kurt, we were together for three years. I know when you're lying."

Kurt paused. "Well, two break-ups later, I'm not sure how well we really know each other, you know what I mean?"

And there it was. The cold truth laid out in front of them.

Blaine took in a deep, shuddering breath. "I really think we should talk."

"Now's not a good time for me."

"Now is a perfect time for you. This was your suggestion-to meet here right now and talk."

"That was when I thought the conversation would be very, _very _different."

"Did you think you'd just fly back here and meet me at a gay bar and win me back? Kurt, you broke my heart in the middle of a restaurant on a storming evening when the only thing that had kept me going that day was the thought of seeing you."

Kurt dropped his gaze to the floor and lowered his voice. "Please don't pretend like it was all on me."

"Youbroke up with me."

"You fought with me over toothpaste!"

"_You _broke up with _me._"

"Well, you cheated on me, but I still took you back."

Blaine scoffed and shook his head. "You know what? You're right. Now isn't a good time to talk." He turned on his heel and started heading for the bar, ready to ask Dave to take him home, when the only voice that had ever been able to stop him in his tracks called out to him.

"Blaine. Wait."

He paused but didn't turn around.

"I'm sorry, please, I- This isn't how I thought this would go," Kurt said.

Blaine pulled his lips into his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut to keep from crying. When he turned around, he was the picture of composure. "After I'd spent an entire day of wedding planning, I met you at that restaurant to share some good news about it. To talk with my fiancé about an exciting new development in the planning of our commitment ceremony to each other where we'd vow to spend our entire lives together. And you know what you said to me?"

Kurt bit his lip. "Blaine, _please._"

"You said you didn't want to marry me anymore."

"I was confused and stupid-"

"After everything we'd gone through. Dalton and McKinley and long-distance and the first break up and me earning your trust back and getting back together and New York and the loft and making mature decisions about our relationship. We finally had moved into that place where we were able to discuss things instead of just fight. We were good, Kurt. Don't get me wrong, I know we had bad times, I'm not in naive denial...but we were _good. _I _loved _you, and you left me."

Kurt's face crumpled in on itself and it was the first time since they'd met that Blaine had ever seen him make that face. "_Loved_?"

Blaine's heart pulled against his chest, because of _course _he still loved Kurt. Nothing had changed-nothing had _ever _changed for him. But something had changed for Kurt that made him break off their engagement and Blaine still had no idea why. And he couldn't keep doing this, he couldn't keep loving someone who was so adamant about refusing to be loved.

"Hey, uh... Everything okay?" Dave asked, coming up behind Blaine and clapping a hand on his shoulder.

Blaine felt as if he'd been burned.

"What the fuck does it look like?" Kurt spat, pushing past them and heading out of the bar.

Blaine didn't hesitate for a moment before chasing after him. "Kurt, wait!"

He followed him all the way out into the parking lot, where Kurt leaned against the building and puked behind the bushes. Blaine gave him time, waited until he was done and standing upright before coming over. He stood awkwardly to the side and behind Kurt, the way he had been the entire time they lived in New York together. He wasn't sure if he could place a hand on Kurt's back, or if he could say encouraging words, or if he could lean in and press his lips soft against Kurt's temple and reassure him that everything would be alright.

"Tell me this isn't real," Kurt said, breathing deeply. He turned his head and looked at Blaine. "_Please. _Tell me."

Blaine bit his lip and shrugged. "I can't."

Kurt pushed away from the wall and walked away, standing by a bench in front of Scandals. Blaine followed him and they sat down next to each other, not touching, but close enough that they could if they wanted.

"What happened between us?" Blaine asked. "I mean, I didn't understand that day, and I still don't. Yes, we had a rough time. Every new couple does. But I never thought you'd be one to throw in the towel so quickly."

"It wasn't quick, Blaine. It was months of arguing over every little thing. Every time we had a fight it just felt like we were drifting further and further apart."

"For all the ways that we are similar, we are so very different from each other. We were bound to have a rough time when we first started living together. Everyone says you're supposed to give it a year to adjust. You gave it three months."

Kurt shook his head and then dropped it into his hands. "I gave it as long as I had the energy to. It was _exhausting. _Don't pretend like you weren't tired of it."

"Of course I was, but that doesn't mean... I mean, I still wanted you. I still wanted a future with you. I still wanted a life with you."

"Please stop talking about us in the past tense."

Blaine paused and looked down at his loafers. "We are past tense now, Kurt. That's... I mean, that's what we are."

"But we can have it back, can't we?" Kurt asked, looking up.

"If you hated us together so much, why would you want to?"

Kurt sat up and grabbed for Blaine's hands, holding both of them. "Because I have never felt the way that I feel when I'm with you. No one can make me feel like you do. I tried, Blaine. I tried speed dating and regular dating and app dating and none of it worked. Every time I met up with one of those guys I was always comparing them to you. To the way you look, the way you speak, the common interests you and I share, the easy way I can be myself around you. I never had to be scared you'd reject me. I knew that no matter what I said, you'd be there for me." Kurt licked his lips and squeezed Blaine's hands. "Look at us. I broke up with you and you said you'd never forgive me, and yet here you are, talking to me and holding my hands in the Scandals parking lot. That has to mean something, right?"

Blaine took a deep breath. It was too much to process, too much to take in. The last time he saw Kurt was when they broke up. Kurt made sure to be out of the loft when Blaine was packing up all of his things and moving out. They skirted around each other until then, slept in different rooms, kept different schedules. The last time Blaine saw Kurt was the look of pure resignation in Kurt's eyes. And he hadn't thought about it since then-hadn't _allowed himself _to even _consider _the possibility of him and Kurt being on friendly terms again-much less _together _again. For Kurt to be here now, offering something Blaine didn't dare to let himself dream about...

He was with Dave now, for crying out loud. Blaine had gone out and started seeing someone and had attempted to start a whole new life, keeping some of the old pieces so he wouldn't lose himself completely. He had Dalton, and he was living with his parents, and he had Rachel and Sam and Dave and...

And none of it felt right without Kurt to talk to. Every day, Blaine had five more stories he wanted to tell Kurt. Stories about Sam accidentally hitting on the new gay football player and not even knowing about it-and ending up on a date with him at Breadstix; stories about him and Rachel singing "Suddenly Seymour" at the new Mamrie's Bed and Breakfast lobby where Blaine worked and earning three times more tips than on a regular day; stories about his dad getting a huge bouquet of flowers for his mom on their anniversary, except it wasn't actually their anniversary because his dad was two months early, and the not-quite-fight his parents had, because while his dad had forgotten the date, at least he'd thought enough to buy flowers. And Blaine had hoped that one day, he and Kurt could be like that. That they could be playful and loving and a little forgetful but always forgiving.

Sitting on this bench outside this bar next to who he was sure-beyond a shadow of a doubt-was the love of his life, Blaine allowed himself to hope again.

"Yes," Blaine finally said, shifting his body towards Kurt. "It means something."

The door to the bar burst open and out popped Dave, a little tipsy and a lot clumsy. "Hey, um-Oh. Yeah, I kinda figured."

Blaine frowned up at him. "What?"

Dave came over and stood next to Blaine. "Look, um, this has been really fun, but let's be honest with ourselves," he gestured between Kurt and Blaine. "There's no one else you want to be with. Even me."

"David-"

"No, it's okay. I knew the second I walked up to you two that we were done. It's cool. You're both really great guys. You deserve each other."

"David, we're not-"

"You're still holding hands."

Blaine glanced down at his hands locked with Kurt but didn't make a move to take his hands back. He couldn't. Even if he wanted to, the feeling of Kurt's soft yet masculine hands secured around his was too much. Blaine couldn't let go even if he tried-if someone offered him money-if there was a gun pointed to his head.

Dave smiled and patted Blaine's upper back. "I'll see you guys around, okay?" And then he walked off, leaving them alone again.

"I still love you," Kurt said. "I'm sorry, I know I keep blurting things out, but I've been talking a lot with my new therapist about being honest and vulnerable with the people I trust-"

"Wait, you've been seeing a therapist?"

Kurt nodded and smiled, then shrugged, like _what are you gonna do? _"I blew it with the one person who has ever meant anything to me. I had to."

"I've been seeing a therapist too," Blaine said, smiling slightly.

Kurt's smile widened and he looked down at their hands, still clasped between them. "I know we have a lot of work to do. Separate and together. But I want you to know that I've been doing all of the individual work, Blaine. I've been trying. I'm...afraid of intimacy, afraid of letting myself be loved. I've built up a lot of walls to keep myself safe, and even though you were the only person who ever made me feel like I didn't need them, they were still there. I'm working on tearing them down now."

"You're doing it all yourself? You should call in a demolition crew. That's quite a job for one person," Blaine said.

Kurt laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I'll call a team on Monday."

Blaine squeezed Kurt's hands. "I'll be there at 8am."

Kurt looked up at him and his smile wavered, but it was still there. "I'm _so _sorry."

"I know," Blaine said. "I am too."

It wasn't magically better. They weren't back together-Blaine wasn't sure _what _they were. And nothing was fixed, but at the same time, it felt like everything was. Blaine had never been one to give up, not for a second. He knew it would take even more work this time around, and that he and Kurt still had a long way to go, but... Third time's the charm, right?


End file.
